GPS Watch Buyer's Guide

The past several posts have showcased my new GPS/HRM watch. What this means is that the watch has two special features: Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, so that it can record your position at all times during your activity, and Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), which can record your heart rate during the activity. These features are of interest to serious fitness enthusiasts and/or electronic gadget geeks. I please guilty on both counts!

After a fair amount of research, the model I purchased was the Garmin Forerunner 305:

If you want the GPS features but don't need an HRM, there is the lower-cost Garmin Forerunner 205:

In both cases, there is a rebate available that you can get by joining the PowerBar mailing list.

San Jose Family Camp Railroad Trestle Run

This was a brand new trail that we explored. It was single track, and I was a little worried about getting lost. When we got down to our destination, an abandoned railroad trestle across the river, I want to try my GPS' "return to start" navigation feature. Unfortunately, at just that instance, the GPS battery died! We were on our own. :-( It wan't any trouble to reverse course and find our way back, but it teaches me I have to carefully manage the battery on this watch. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 2868 ft Location: Coulterville, CA Elev. Gain: -95 ft Date: 08/12/07 Up/Downhill: [+190/-285] Time: 06:58 AM Difficulty: 1.8 / 5.0   Weather: Clear   84F temp; 23% humidity   80F heat index; winds NW 8 Performance Distance: 1.08 miles Time: 0:19:00 Speed: 3.4 mph Pace: 17' 36 /mi Heart Rate: 131 bpm (Avg) Calories: 125 152 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft.)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 158 - 176 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Zone 4 141 - 158 0h 02m 10%  0.15 mi Zone 3 123 - 141 0h 11m 61%  0.90 mi Zone 2 106 - 123 0h 02m 13%  0.07 mi Zone 1 88 - 106 0h 00m 1%  0.02 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 13' 02 -4' 34 4.6 +1.2 134 -55 ft end 26' 12 +8' 36 2.3 -1.1 121 -39 ft Versus average of 17' 36 min/mi

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San Jose Family Camp loop run

Last week was our annual vacation to San Jose Family Camp. I was delighted to bring my GPS watch out for my runs, as I've always wondered about where I was running: distances, elevation, etc. This is for a loop I ran with Marguerita. We ran the loop in the opposite direction (CCW) from usual, and began by running 3.0 miles up Cherry Lake Road. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 3179 ft Location: Coulterville, CA Elev. Gain: -19 ft Date: 08/11/07 Up/Downhill: [+912/-931] Time: 07:08 AM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0   Weather: Clear   84F temp; 23% humidity   80F heat index; winds NW 8 Performance Distance: 6.02 miles Time: 1:04:43 Speed: 5.6 mph Pace: 10' 45 /mi Heart Rate: 144 bpm (Avg) Calories: 720 166 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft.)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 158 - 176 0h 13m 19%  1.00 mi Zone 4 141 - 158 0h 28m 43%  2.60 mi Zone 3 123 - 141 0h 28m 43%  2.78 mi Zone 2 106 - 123 0h 01m 2%  0.08 mi Zone 1 88 - 106 0h 00m 1%  0.05 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 11' 01 +0' 16 5.4 -0.1 129 +19 ft 2 12' 26 +1' 41 4.8 -0.8 155 +351 ft 3 11' 45 +1' 00 5.1 -0.5 159 +318 ft 4 10' 29 -0' 16 5.7 +0.1 141 -207 ft 5 10' 14 -0' 31 5.9 +0.3 143 -194 ft 6 9' 43 -1' 02 6.2 +0.6 134 -292 ft end 9' 35 -1' 10 6.3 +0.7 128 -16 ft Versus average of 10' 45 min/mi

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2007 Tour de Peninsula

Today I rode the Tour de Peninsula in Redwood City with my son and some other fathers and sons. Congratulations to the 7th graders on finishing the 22-mile course! There were challenges on the course, both physical and mechanical, but we all supported each other and everyone was smiling at the end. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 272 ft Location: Redwood City, CA Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 08/05/07 Up/Downhill: [+2057/-2060] Time: 08:56 AM Difficulty: 4.4 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   66F temp; 60% humidity   66F heat index; winds W 14 Performance Distance: 20.10 miles Time: 2:05:20 Speed: 9.6 mph Pace: 6' 15 /mi Heart Rate: 107 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1333 147 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft.)   Speed (mph)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 158 - 176 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi Zone 4 141 - 158 0h 01m 1%  0.19 mi Zone 3 123 - 141 0h 36m 28%  2.96 mi Zone 2 106 - 123 1h 12m 57%  7.54 mi Zone 1 88 - 106 1h 40m 79%  9.21 mi (none) out of range 0h 18m 14%  1.91 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 5' 53 -0' 22 10.2 +0.6 103 +33 ft 2 7' 54 +1' 39 7.6 -2.0 104 +43 ft 3 6' 53 +0' 38 8.7 -0.9 115 +9 ft 4 8' 16 +2' 01 7.3 -2.3 116 +112 ft 5 10' 50 +4' 35 5.5 -4.1 111 -62 ft 6 33' 53 +27' 38 1.8 -7.8 117 +387 ft 7 17' 38 +11' 23 3.4 -6.2 102 -69 ft 8 3' 51 -2' 24 15.5 +5.9 91 -177 ft 9 3' 23 -2' 52 17.7 +8.1 87 -167 ft 10 17' 29 +11' 14 3.4 -6.2 112 +174 ft 11 14' 38 +8' 23 4.1 -5.5 105 +43 ft 12 12' 59 +6' 44 4.6 -5.0 105 +33 ft 13 4' 58 -1' 17 12.1 +2.5 94 -39 ft 14 6' 33 +0' 18 9.1 -0.5 99 +23 ft 15 17' 26 +11' 11 3.4 -6.2 96 -26 ft 16 6' 58 +0' 43 8.6 -1.0 101 +56 ft 17 18' 20 +12' 05 3.3 -6.3 107 +82 ft 18 10' 13 +3' 58 5.9 -3.7 111 -289 ft 19 3' 54 -2' 21 15.4 +5.8 110 -75 ft 20 3' 57 -2' 18 15.2 +5.6 125 -59 ft end 4' 44 -1' 31 12.7 +3.1 114 -32 ft Versus average of 9.6 mph

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Edgewood Park Run w/ James & Forerunner

This week I'm at the intersection of technology and fitness. I got one of those big clunky watches that includes both GPS and Heart Rate Monitor, and it gives you tons of data on your workouts, such as this! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 499 ft Location: San Carlos, CA Elev. Gain: -10 ft Date: 08/04/07 Up/Downhill: [+1279/-1289] Time: 07:54 AM Difficulty: 3.2 / 5.0   Weather: Partly Cloudy   66F temp; 72% humidity   66F heat index; winds N 7 Performance Distance: 4.93 miles Time: 1:00:55 Speed: 4.9 mph Pace: 12' 21 /mi Heart Rate: 141 bpm (Avg) Calories: 559 176 bpm (Peak) Notes First run with Forerunner 305! Map   Elevation (ft.)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 158 - 176 0h 16m 26%  1.15 mi Zone 4 141 - 158 0h 20m 32%  1.56 mi Zone 3 123 - 141 0h 20m 33%  1.86 mi Zone 2 106 - 123 0h 02m 3%  0.15 mi Zone 1 88 - 106 0h 01m 2%  0.11 mi (none) out of range 0h 03m 6%  0.30 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 12' 47 +0' 26 4.7 -0.2 122 +361 ft 2 13' 57 +1' 36 4.3 -0.6 146 +82 ft 3 10' 59 -1' 22 5.5 +0.6 153 -23 ft 4 10' 36 -1' 45 5.7 +0.8 138 -383 ft end 13' 41 +1' 20 4.4 -0.5 152 -46 ft Versus average of 12' 21 min/mi

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